Sick Day
by Emperor Bass exe
Summary: Not all duties of an empress are just administrative in nature, there are times when royalty must shift to the need to be a parent.


The morning sun gleamed down through the crystalline windows as the curtains parted. At this, the lump in the nearby bed groaned and shuffled deeper underneath the black satin covers of the bedspread.

"Rise and shine, Corentin." Shirley intoned cheerfully as she turned from the curtains to the bed, the gold-trimmed, long white 'petals' trailing from her black imperial garb swaying as she did so. The empress' auburn hair blazed in the warm sunlight as she bent smoothly at the waist to crouch over the bed, her jade eyes alight with mischief.

"C'mon sweetie, get up. Sayoko has a wonderful breakfast spread out for you." As she spoke, Shirley tugged the fluffy bedspread off the lump with little resistance from the occupant. This revealed a boy, no older than eight, curled up in a groggy little ball beneath the sheets, his dark-auburn hair ruffled due to fidgeting in his sleep.

"…hour more…" the boy grumbled, half-pleadingly, his eyes shut tight against the glare of morning as he tried to shuffle further under the bed sheets with a grumpy frown.

Shirley gave an exaggerated huff, a smile still on her face, long having been used to her son not being a morning person. The empress pouted in a joking fashion, pressing the back of her hand to her forehead in a mock dramatic-faint, "Oh Corentin! I thought you'd go swimming with me today! I hoped I could help you practice your diving for the upcoming swim meet. You don't want the other children to think you're bad at swimming, do you?"

At this, the boy reluctantly rolled over to face his mother, only his deep amethyst eyes – so much like Lelouch's – peering over the hem of the sheets at her. His reply was muffled somewhat due to his mouth and nose being covered, "You promise?"

Shirley nodded, beaming, "Yep, right after breakfast, we'll get changed and…" she paused, her smile dropping as Corentin lifted his face from the rest of the covers with a sneeze, his complexion flushed.

"Mom?" The young prince asked, sniffling loudly as he looked up at her.

Concerned, Shirley reached out to gently shift the fringe of his fiery locks away and press her palm to his forehead. The empress blinked, feeling the hot skin beneath her fingers, "Corentin, you're burning up. Hold on while I get a thermometer…" Smoothly standing with a determined expression on her slender face, Shirley strode from the room.

"But Mom, you – " Corentin's protest floated after her, only to be interrupted by a sudden series of coughs.

Moments later, Shirley glided back into his room, a thermometer and tissue box in-hand. As the boy's coughing settled down long enough for him to attempt a protest again, his mother gently put the end of the thermometer in his mouth, angling it beneath his tongue. "No buts," Shirley chided as she sat on the edge of his bed, "We're going to find out your temperature and see what other symptoms you have."

Corentin huffed around the thermometer in his mouth and lay back on the bed, silent save for the occasional cough that escaped his lips. After about a minute, Shirley eased the thermometer out of his mouth and inspected the reading, "107 degrees," she said, eyes widening. "And you're coughing too. Hold on sweetie, I'll fetch Sayoko."

"Wait Mom!" Corentin exclaimed, sitting up and seizing his mother's wrist as she rose to leave, "You said we'd practice diving today! You promised!" His purple eyes brimmed with disappointment, and a note of pleading entered his voice.

Shirley sighed, gently taking her son's small hand in hers, "I know, Corentin, I know. But that was before I saw that you're not feeling well. I'm not going to have you exert yourself when you're sick, it isn't healthy for you. It won't help you feel better, and may end up making you feel worse! Besides sweetie, what if you did swim and your sickness got into the pool water? You wouldn't want other people to feel like you are now, right?" The empress explained patiently, a placating smile on her face.

The young boy pursed his lips, his eyes still begging somewhat as he mulled this argument over; Shirley continued, "Also, if you practice when you're sick, it won't count as real training since your body will be tired while you try it, you won't be able to focus on fixing mistakes and you may forget what you learned afterwards if you're too tired."

That settled it, and with a sigh of resignation, Corentin settled back onto the mattress, pulling the covers up to his chest. "Ok…" He mumbled, looking downtrodden.

"But don't worry, Corentin," Shirley soothed, running a hand though his auburn hair, "We'll make up for it when you're better by spending a day training at the royal pool, how would that sound?" she asked, grinning, "We could start in the morning an hour after breakfast, and end a bit before dinner so you could get a nice day's training in. We could stop for lunch and have pizza prepared by Auntie C.C., wouldn't that be awesome?"

Corentin slowly nodded, "Yeah, it would, Mom." He smiled, only for it to break from a sneeze.

"Alright, but only if you agree to stay in bed today and try to get better." Shirley reminded, plucking a tissue from the box and pressing it around her Son's nose, "Blow please." Corentin complied, the result sounding like a muffled, soggy, trumpet.

Shirley left to get Sayoko after that, trusting in the Japanese maid's judgment after years of experience in taking care of Lelouch and Nunnally. Sayoko inspected the young prince's throat with a pocket flashlight, showing that it was red and swollen, a sign that Corentin probably had the flu.

"He'll need to be kept comfortable, but remain in bed." Sayoko explained, spooning a dose of Tylenol in the boy's mouth after he'd finished a helping of oatmeal. "He should try and sleep since that'll do more in fighting the sickness."

"But I'm not tired." Corentin interjected, unconvincingly, after swallowing the medicine, to which Sayoko simply smiled warmly.

"Then read a book or watch TV, but don't get out of bed besides using the toilet. I'll prepare some miso soup for lunch, the broth will help you feel better." The maid straightened up and bowed to Shirley, "M'lady, if you'd like, I could watch him during the day. I'm aware you have duties to perform and that painting you wished to work on."

The auburn-haired woman gently shook her head, "That won't be necessary, Sayoko, not completely at least. I'll care for him, the painting can wait, and I've no official duties until later in the week. Return to your own tasks, but of course be on hand to help if I need it."

At this, the maid bowed again cheerfully, and left the empress and prince alone.

Corentin sniffled loudly, idly shuffling under the covers, "I guess some TV would be ok…" he mumbled as his amethyst eyes stared longingly out his bedroom window at the sunny summer day.

It pained Shirley to see her son so cooped up and lethargic. Corentin was normally so full of energy and eager to seize the day if weather permitted, either when taking up fencing lessons with Jeremiah in the gardens, or playing with his twin sister, his cousins, and his half-siblings. And, of course, there was always his love of swimming. Even during the school year at the Royal Academy, the prince showed enthusiasm, running across the grounds between classes or during recess and gym. Shirley even recalled the rapid patter of his kicks during her pregnancy, she smiled at the memory.

A few coughs from her son brought her back to the present, and Shirley tuned to the thin-screen TV hanging from the wall, typing in the key-code that only she and Lelouch knew that unlocked the screen's controls. "Let's see if some of your shows are on, sweetie." She mused, flicking through the channels to seek a favourite anime of his, or a survival program such as Man vs. Wild.

"Corentin?" Came a voice from the doorway, and Shirley paused in the search to see her husband peer in the room, a worried expression on his face. Lelouch was just finishing buttoning up his white imperial vestments as he stepped into the room.

"Hey Dad," the boy said, waving weakly and coughing a bit, "I wanted to train today, but Mom says I'm too sick."

"And she's right, son." The emperor replied, exchanging a look with Shirley and nodding in agreement. "Listen to her advice; she knows what she's doing."

"But you still give speeches and stuff when you're sick." Corentin pointed out.

Lelouch chuckled, "That's because it's my job, son, and my obligation to everyone. You'll understand more when you're older. Do me a favour and rest up today; I'll make sure the pool is cleaned while you're sick so it'll be even better for you when you get back to practicing."

At Corentin's nod, the emperor grinned and ruffled his auburn hair lovingly. Shirley intercepted Lelouch in the hall as he left the room. "You have that speech today. It's Channel 126?" She asked, and at his nod, she continued, "I was thinking of having Corentin watch it."

Lelouch's eyebrow rose, "Oh? Why? He won't understand the subject matter all that much; he might even fall asleep due to it…" He trailed off, purple eyes widening in understanding. Despite himself, Lelouch smiled, "How cunning, boring our son with my work." A note of approval entered his voice.

Shirley giggled, "I learn from the best." She explained, leaning forward and kissing him gently.

"I'm not sure how I feel about that." The emperor replied, returning the smooch with a grin.

Lelouch left to prepare for his work day, and Shirley resumed caretaking duties in Corentin's room in time to find that Rozenn and Saki had snuck inside and were questioning him.

"Will you be better tomorrow? We were gonna to give Arthur a bath and didn't want you to miss out." Saki questioned, the pink-haired girl peering at her cousin in concern.

"I dunno, maybe." Corentin replied, turning away and coughing into the crook of his arm.

"It's ok," Rozenn chirped, "Arthur is hiding in the garden anyway, I could ask Uncle Suzaku to stand still until Arthur comes out and bites him. Then we could get him for the bath."

"My daddy isn't bait." Saki said reproachfully, turning to frown at the auburn-haired girl, her pigtails waiving with the movement.

"I know that!" the princess replied with a giggle, playfully sticking her tongue out, "But who else is best at finding Arthur? Mister Jeremiah would just scare him back into hiding."

"Out girls." Shirley chided as she gently shooed the pair into the hall. "Corentin isn't feeling well today, he can help you annoy the cat later when he's better."

"Ok Mom," Rozenn sighed before waving to her twin and trotting off, "Get well soon!" Saki bowed to her aunt with a smile before following suit.

"Save the shampoo part for me!" The prince reminded them as he idly flicked through TV channels with a slender remote, finally settling on _Kenichi: The World's Mightiest Disciple_ and snuggling deeper into the covers to watch as the show's opening theme graced his ears.

"Now that those two are gone, Corentin, would you like to watch Dad's speech later on?" Shirley asked as the giggles of the girls faded down the hall.

The boy shrugged in mild-disinterest. "Sure, I guess. I really only like the endings, where everyone cheers."

Shirley smiled, despite how young her children were, they still had a great sense of pride for their father and his exploits. "Ok, and can I watch Kenichi with you?" She asked, the prince nodded and she gingerly sat on the edge of his bed.

They watched the episode, then turned to the Discovery channel just in time to catch Bear Grylls in action; Shirley blanched as she watched the survivalist bite the head off a gecko. Corentin grinned, "Remind me to ask Dad to have mister Grylls knighted sometime, he's awesome!"

They watched a few more shows, the music and dialogue occasionally interrupted by coughing or a sneeze or two from the bed stricken prince. They only paused when Sayoko walked in to present a light bento-box lunch to them. Sitting up, Corentin ate lightly, not having enough appetite for the rice but downing the soup at his mother's behest. As he finished, Shirley changed to channel 126; beaming at the sight of her beloved standing behind a podium and flanked by the caped forms of Suzaku and Jeremiah.

Lelouch's speech was soft-spoken, lacking the hateful brimstone and arrogance that his own father's speeches possessed in the days before the rebellion. The raven-haired emperor, covered issues with a fair understanding, providing balance on topics. He was like a fair breeze, softly swaying the hearts of Britannia's people and the rest of the world.

A light snore graced Shirley's ears, and she turned to see her son slumped down on his pillow, his eyelids twitching ever-so-slightly as his eyes moved in his sleep. Lightly, so she wouldn't wake him, the empress pulled the covers over her boy. A minute later, cheers and applause resounded from the TV as Lelouch concluded his speech, the crowd's approval only softening when Shirley lowered the volume. She beamed as she turned and saw Corentin smile in his sleep.

"…Mum… Dad…" The boy murmured happily.


End file.
